ISEAS Perspective provides analysis of specific current events and their significance for the Southeast Asian region. This will be published occasionally, and is aimed at keeping decision-makers in both the public and private sectors informed; as well as scholars, laymen and the interested public. This series undergoes a peer-review process.
2021/50 “Assessing Digital Economy Policies in Six Southeast Asian Countries” by Joey Erh
2021 No. 50
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The various digital economy policies across Southeast Asian countries can be evaluated and benchmarked on six main components – connectivity, digital literacy and skills, privacy and cybersecurity regulations, transformation, creation and regional collaboration. The six countries analysed each have policies covering these components but they vary in policy focus. More developed digital economies […]
2021/49 “ASEAN Navigates between Indo-Pacific Polemics and Potentials” by Hoang Thi Ha
2021 No. 49
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Despite releasing the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific in June 2019, ASEAN member states have yet to reach a coherent view on the Indo-Pacific. They remain ambivalent about the Indo-Pacific to different degrees due to the concept’s malleability and external pressures from China and Russia. As one of the more forward-leaning ASEAN members […]
2021/48 “Medan’s 2020 Mayoral Election: Dynastic Politics Versus Underperforming Incumbency” by Deasy Simandjuntak
2021 No. 48
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY President Joko Widodo’s son-in-law, businessman Bobby Nasution, won Medan’s 2020 mayoral election on 9 December 2020. Meanwhile, the President’s son Gibran Rakabuming Raka won Solo’s mayoral election in Central Java. In South Tangerang, Banten, all three mayoral candidates have family ties with established elites. Many observers have therefore deemed these local elections as […]
2021/47 “Thailand’s Constitutional Amendment Process Halted in its Tracks” by Termsak Chalermpalanupap
2021 No. 47
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Six months after it began, the contentious constitutional amendment process in the Thai parliament ground to a halt on 17 March when the draft bill on amending the 2017 Constitution was rejected in its final reading. This came after the Constitutional Court ruled that the approach taken in the bill would be tantamount […]
2021/46 “Malaysia-US Relations and the Biden Administration: Mapping Excitement, Managing Expectations” by Kuik Cheng-Chwee, Abdul Razak Ahmad, and Khor Swee Kheng
2021 No. 46
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Malaysia, like many other countries in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, is enthusiastic that “America is back”, primarily because the Biden administration is perceived to be more credible, projects more confidence, and promises more room for collaboration on key issues. However, collaboration between Malaysia and the United States is likely to be constrained by […]
2021/45 “Identity Politics: Resoundingly Absent from the 2020 Regional Election in Tasikmalaya” by Amin Mudzakkir and Ahmad Najib Burhani
2021 No. 45
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Tasikmalaya previously gained national and international repute as an intolerant district where discrimination towards religious minorities had occurred sporadically, including during the pandemic. Although sectarian issues and identity politics surfaced in the early days of the 2020 regional election in Tasikmalaya, they proved remarkably irrelevant in influencing voters. A key factor which dissipated […]
2021/44 “Artisanal, Small-scale and Large-scale Mining in Lao PDR” by Oliver Tappe
2021 No. 44
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Despite eight years of gradual decline due to low global commodity prices, the mining sector in Lao PDR still constitutes a key source of state revenue and an important destination for foreign direct investment, especially from China, Vietnam and Thailand. Economic development through industrial mining has not translated into employment opportunities for local […]
2021/43 “Placate the Young and Control Online Discourse: The Vietnamese State’s Tightrope” by Dien Nguyen An Luong
2021 No. 43
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY How to control cyberspace in a country that boasts around 72 million social media users without alienating the growing cadres of Internet-savvy youths is a daunting challenge for Vietnamese authorities. 2013 was a watershed year that shaped how the authorities walk a very fine line between accommodating social-savvy youths and controlling online discourse. […]
2021/42 “The Milk Tea Alliance and China’s Power Gap in Southeast Asia” by Quinton Temby
2021 No. 42
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Following the February 1 coup, Myanmar became the latest country to be included in the online pan-Asian pro-democracy movement known as the Milk Tea Alliance. The Milk Tea movement began as a whimsical internet meme in 2020, channelling dissent against China’s authoritarianism by youth activists in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Thailand—countries where sweet […]
2021/41 “Vietnam’s Economy in the Wake of Covid-19” by Nguyen Chien Thang and Pham Sy An
2021 No. 41
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Vietnam’s economic growth in 2020 declined sharply due to the Covid-19 pandemic, from a high of around 7 per cent to 2.91 per cent. This is better than many other countries where growth rates were negative. The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the economy on both the supply and demand fronts. On the demand […]